The Purpose of this Report
To inform and educate business partners, political leaders and communities of the risks involved when working with BayWa re
CASE STUDY: baywa's jvr energy park
A 600 Acre, 90 MW Solar and 50MW Battery Storage Industrial Energy Plant proposed to be built in the Summer of 2025 in Southern California adjacent to the small historic and rural village of Jacumba Hot Springs.
A story of how BayWa r.e. North America, used the virtues of Renewable Energy to:
- unnecessarily site a project that directly harms a severely disadvantaged community
- degrades the natural environment
- unnecessarily increases the cost of energy for all
- uses dirty politics to overpower community feedback
Location: jacumba hot springs, california, population: 561
A small historic and rural community in the far east county of San Diego, California. Jacumba Hot Springs is a SDAC (Severely Disadvantaged Community) according to the State of California with a Median Household Income of $39,702
The only open space next to this small 100 acre community available for future growth and sustainable development, inside its own protected village boundary, was chosen to site a 600 acre industrial utility.
How were they able to do this?
A multi-year, strategically planned process by BayWa r.e. Leadership
- exploiting an unincorporated and low income community
- concealing project plans
- using dirty politics
- misrepresenting community feedback to government officials
- submitting false engineering documents
1. exploiting an unincorporated and low income community
Fact: Even though the project site had definite and broad unmitigable negative impacts to a small low income community, BayWa Vice President of Project Development, Patrick Brown and BayWa North America CEO Jam Attari moved ahead with the project because of their confidence to overcome a low-income community's opposition. With a median household income of $39,702, Jacumba Hot Springs is one of the lowest income communities in all of Southern California designated by the state of California as a Severely Disadvantaged Community. Patrick Brown knew it would be difficult for such a small, poor town without sophisticated opposition, to fight such a large, deep pocketed company. He even told us many times "don't waste your time, the project is a done deal" and "BayWa has deep pockets, so don't even consider fighting." As an unincorporated community that did not have a functioning local representation group and no efforts by BayWa for community engagement during their 4+ year project planning process, the project was planned with zero community input.
Result: BayWa was able to design a project that never took into consideration its impacts on the town it engulfed.
Recommendation: If you are a political organization or political representative, you will need to involve a third party mediator to ensure community engagement is transparent and representative. BayWa will exploit underserved communities to their benefit.
2. concealing project plans
Fact: BayWa began discussion for acquiring the project site in 2014 when developing another project to the East of Jacumba, Jacumba Solar, LLC. The developer never considered sharing its plans or discussing the impact of such a project with the community during this entire 6 year planning period.
Result: The community was caught completely off guard in 2019 when they received a Notice of Preparation from the County, which includes no map of the actual proposed project, only an outline of the property lines. No map was shown to the public until October of 2020, just 10 months before the final hearing. The document was almost 1,000 pages of technical reports, with maps buried within, we were given just 60 days to comment.
Recommendation: Require BayWa r.e. to work transparantly with stakeholders in timeframes that are reasonable to the produce appropriate community feedback and true consideration of community concerns.
Fact: In September of 2024, the Jacumba Community is still asking for a current project plan from BayWa. BayWa refuses to provide this and even sends old maps for 2021 to try to conceal their most up to date plans, which maximize their project footprint at the expense of the community of Jacumba Hot Springs. On September 20th, 2024, just months from beginning construction, BayWa Senior Director of Land Entitlement, Brandon Reinhardt, told the Jacumba Community Sponsor Group they had no idea what kind of solar panel they were using on the project, how many solar panels, or how many acres they would cover of the project footprint.
Result: They are concealing the project production in order to prevent the community from enforcing the Permit requirements of project setbacks from the community.
Recommendation: Require a neutral, government appointed liaison that is responsible for mediating community engagement.
3. DIRTY POLITICS
Fact: BayWa Employee and Project Developer Patrick Brown used former local resident Bill Pape in a multi-year project to orchestrate the make-up of our Community Services District (Water Board), Senior Center Board and Arts Council Board in an attempt to misrepresent community sentiment and get letters of support for the project from these boards. Bill Pape used threats and reports to Code Enforcement to manipulate board make up and get board members to resign if they were not willing to sign letters in support of the project. Multiple Local Volunteer Board Members are now involved in multi-year correction issues regarding historical issues on their properties costing thousands.
Watch Bill Pape at the Hearing- the ONLY comment in support of the project that was not a Union or attorney for BayWa: https://www.youtube.com/live/pl0YXy6ilj0?si=uLCt5DfnamUIywwm&t=4570
Result: This multi-year effort divided our community volunteer boards and intentionally created hostile meetings and environments in order to discourage community involvement. This eventually led to Jacumba's local Community Services District being captured by an orchestrated board, and signing a letter in support of the project, against the communities pleas.
Recommendation: Be aware of community boards and membership if BayWa is siting a project nearby. They can and will be used against your community.
Fact: BayWa chose to notice the project during a period their planted board members had disbanded our local "sponsor group" which is the local land use representation board.
Result: The community had no understanding of what was going on and was never engaged in any transparent dialogue about the project and its impacts on the community.
Recommendation: If BayWa is siting a project in your community, please make sure the community has representation and a forum for engagement.
Fact: BayWa signed a labor agreement with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) in order to use their political influence to overpower our community. The IBEW lobbied every political decision maker on behalf of the developer at the expense of the community.
Result: High power lobbyists and political machines from the Unions sprang into action and leaned into political leaders to go against the will of the community. This led to decision making boards having members that would push for project approval on behalf of the IBEW Electrical Workers Labor Union.
Recommendation: Reach out to press to tell the story as its happening, try to expose their strategy. Large labor is very powerful at the political level and created a large and difficult
Fact: Stephanie Saathoff reached out to our community to offer "support" in our opposition of the project. Weeks before the project went up for vote we discovered she had been working for the interest of BayWa the entire time. She had given us compromised "experts" including attorneys, CEQA specialists, and others in order to make community opposition ineffective.
Result: We lost precious months of time preparing proper legal arguments and positions on record in opposition to the project. We were advised to hold pointless meetings among just local residents and not reach out to larger political organizations ourselves for help. We were told the lobbyists was covering all the political angles and it was looking "good".
Recommendation: Be aware of any person outside your community offering "help".
4. Misrepresenting community feedback to government official
Fact: The community asked BayWa for no panels south of Old Highway 80 and a 1,000+ foot buffer on the north side. Also referred to as the Equity for Jacumba Alternative.
On May 27, 2021 CEO Jam Attari misled the Elected Board of Directors of Power Purchasing Company, SDCP, claiming they had "addressed community concern in regard to project size" and "moved it away from the town."
At this point the project plan had zero buffer from our Community Park or Community Residences South of Old Highway 80, and only a 300 foot buffer from some Community residences North of Old Highway 80.
Watch Video Here: https://youtu.be/xDBL4434JjE?si=G3blIsuqE1ZI8bYW&t=15269
Result: San Diego Community Power was misinformed about community engagement when making the decision to approve the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA).
Recommendation: A neutral third party is required to fact-check BayWa during decision making processes.
Fact: The entire town was in opposition to this project at the size it was planned. BayWa North America CEO Jam Attari states on record that the opposition heard on the project, was just a "small sample of the engagement that has been happening." A term he used to describe multiple highly contentious meetings held with the community without a single local resident in support of their project.
Watch Video Here of BayWa CEO: https://youtu.be/xDBL4434JjE?si=fAkoe0kDPdRGoPrG&t=15543
Watch Over 1.5 Hours of Opposition Here: https://www.youtube.com/live/pl0YXy6ilj0?si=fgH3u8rvVyVQoOf9&t=5038
Result: The Board of DIrectors of the Power Purchaser, San Diego Community Power, was misled to believe that only a small portion of the Community was in opposition.
Recommendation: Engage directly with the community to survey sentiment about BayWa projects and BayWa engagement efforts. Do not trust BayWa Representatives.
Fact: In July of 2024, as part of the required community benefit fund settlement, BayWa has developed a survey of local residents that offers cash payments to offset electrical costs.
Result: BayWa is attempting to manipulate the use of the required Community Benefit Funds to create local support of the community support with cash payments instead of actually trying to create a long-term impact on the community with the community benefit funds.
Recommendation: A neutral third party must mediate community benefit discussions, as BayWa will attempt to use Community Benefit funds to Benefit their project.
5. False engineering documents
Fact: BayWa submitted engineering documents that falsely claimed required project size. A new technology came to market during the project planning, the introduction of Bi-Facial panels to Utility Scale Solar allow for projects to go from 5-6 Acres per MegaWatt to 4-4.5 Acres per MegaWatt. This project could have been designed to be 400 acres or less while achieving the 90MW project goal and allow for larger and ethical community buffers. Instead BayWa claimed it needed 6.7 Acres/MW to achieve project goals.
Examples of Projects with BiFacial Panels:
Aramis Solar - 4 acres/MW
Viking Energy - 4.4 acre/MW
Result: BayWa was able to confuse government planning department with confusing engineering calculations, to get maximum project footprint that is capable of producing approx. 35% more power than they need - at the expense of the community of Jacumba Hot Springs.
Recommendation: Start early with permitting staff to require a third party to review engineering calculations if project size is a concern. Often better technology can achieve better results for projects encroaching on a community.
Fact: Rather than connecting to the existing ECO Substation, just 2 miles down the road, the Developer proposed to build an approximately $20 million, unnecessary, switchyard at the expense of the rate payer.
Result: This reduced project cost to the developer and shifted those inflated and unnecessary costs to the ratepayer. The developer would have only spent $2mm running a power line to the already existing substation. Instead, BayWa proposed the local IOU (Investor Owned Utility) SDG&E to build a new switchyard for $20 mm+ which will increase ratepayer rates and guarantee profits to the IOU. BayWa gets a free interconnection. The community gets a completely unnecessary, 7 acre, highly impactful, industrial switching station on its primary view shed, Carrizo Gorge Road.
Recommendation: Look for unnecessary connection projects when alternatives are available. Often the misaligned incentives for IOUs to built unnecessary infrastructure will manipulate the decision making process.
Conclusion
BayWa r.e. is unable to fulfill their own mission statement
"Embracing equity and diversity, we are committed to creating inclusive environments where everyone can reach their full potential." -
Did they provide an inclusive process that embraced the diverse community of Jacumba Hot Springs?
Will the 100 acre disadvantaged community of Jacumba Hot Springs reach their full potential surrounded by a 600 acre industrial solar plant?
BayWa r.e. is a greenwashing company
BayWa is leveraging renewable energy goals to cloak predatory development practices and maximize profits over people and communities.
BayWa r.e. leadership is unethical
CEO, Vice President of Development and other BayWa leadership, are willing to mislead government officials, misrepresent community feedback and falsify engineering documents to achieve their financial goals.
BayWa r.e. does not prioritize integrity or community sustainability
If you are considering doing work with BayWa r.e. and you care about your community or your personal/political reputation in providing a truly sustainable or equitable renewable energy future you should consider another development partner.
Additional resources
What the community asked for
While still being the largest solar project in the county, this would allow for future community sustainability practices by allowing for local food production in the only viable farm land, allow for recreation, reduce impacts on vistas and the natural beauty the local economy relies on.
"A small sample"
What BayWa CEO Jam Attari called a "small sample" of opposition to this project in SDCP Board of Directors Meeting on May 27th, 2021 in order go gain support of the project and a power purchase agreement.
Watch our "Small sample" of opposition
Please go to 1:24:30 to see start of community opposition.
Our Pleas to the public good
Count down to Baywa r.e. unethical development
The date is fast approaching that BayWa r.e. will begin destroying the community of Jacumba Hot Springs
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